The present invention relates to a door boot with reduced opening force.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,579 shows a prior art door boot for use in an appliance such as a washing machines. The door boot forms a seal when the door is closed. The seal extends around the access opening of the appliance.
Industry standards require that the force necessary to open the door must be approximately 15 pounds. The force necessary to open the door includes two components: the strength of the latch holding the door closed, and the resistance force caused by the seal over the access opening. This resistance force is partially due to a vacuum which is created when the door initiates its opening movement, and the seal between the door boot and the door must be overcome before the door can break away and be opened.
It is desirable to be able to reduce the opening force necessary to overcome the resisting force of the seal so that the latching force of the latch can be increased.
Therefore a primary object of the present invention is the provision of an improved door boot with reduced opening force.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a relief groove in the door boot which permits it to flex and reduces the opening force necessary to overcome the sealing force created by the seal between the door and the door boot.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved door boot having a groove positioned so that the force required to close and seal the door is unaffected, but the force required to open the door is reduced.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved door boot which is economical to manufacture, durable in use, and efficient in operation.
The foregoing objects may be achieved in a sealing system for an appliance comprising a cabinet enclosing an appliance cavity. An access opening is provided in the appliance having an opening perimeter, the access opening providing access from the exterior of the cabinet to the appliance cavity. A door boot extends around the perimeter of the access opening. A door is movably mounted to the cabinet for movement from an open position exposing the access opening for access to the appliance cavity to a closed position in covering relation over the access opening. The door includes a sealing surface and the door boot includes a boot sealing surface. These two surfaces engage one another and provide a seal between the door and the cabinet when the door is in its closed position. This seal causes a resistance force opposing the movement of the door from its closed position to its open position. A relief groove is provided in the door boot permitting the door boot to flex in response to initial movement of the door from its closed position to its open position. The flexing of the door boot reduces the magnitude of the opening force necessary to overcome the resistance force opposing the movement of the door from its closed position to its open position.
A further feature of the present invention is a relief hinge created adjacent the relief groove. The relief hinge flexes during the initial movement of the door from its closed to its open position.
According to another feature of the present invention the entire boot is comprised of a flexible plastic material.